Another Vampire Tale
by Darkened Smoke Kitten
Summary: A teenage lad living in Brighton discovers that stories are more of a reality when he is pulled into one of the biggest wars creatures of the dark have ever had. However, he isn't expected to battle bare-handed, as he is chosen because of his gifts.
1. Chapter 1 The Start of It

AN- this is a working progress. It was an idea that just came to me, so I'm working on it as it comes. If you have any feedback for me at all, whether it be telling me to change something, or even suggesting I include something, I'd really appreciate it a lot. Also, it would be great to hear if you liked it or not, and to see if you want it continued, so let me know and I'll keep writing!!

The Start of It

I've lived in Brighton for the last 8 years. Before that I'd lived up in London, the capital of predators in the world. I'm now nearly 16, and I plan to live alone as soon as I find a way to give my mum the slip, but so far I've got nothing. No plans, no goals, not even the smallest dreams to somehow get me away. All I need is one decent excuse and I'm free to wander as I please.

There's one thing that I really didn't anticipate when we moved down to Brighton, and that was the amount of abnormal activity that happens down here. In London, you hear about the abnormal activities of every town, pretty much, but nothing down in Brighton, so that's why we moved down here. It's quiet, pretty small, and coastal, so not much should happen, right? Wrong. Four months ago, people started disappearing in large numbers, like, a dozen a week, which is proof that some creature or other is involved, because no human, or gang of humans, can kill that many people in one week, and it's not like these people have anything in common either, like would be common of human-caused mass murders. You have old people, young people, and black and white people. You have Jews, Christians, Muslims and even Buddhists. Travellers, homemakers, government officials, tourists and even tramps off of the street got killed too. No man or woman has been safe for the last four months, and my suspicion is that whatever got London got bored and now is after Brighton. It's the only explanation that fits, if you ask me, I'm sure of it.

It's Thursday. I've just got back from school, and the house is completely empty, so I put my bag by the fridge, have a look to see what's inside it then walk through to the front room. The phone is flashing so I know there are messages waiting to be listened to, so I push the square button to start playing them. There are 5 in total. The first one is from my nana, telling mum to call her as soon she can, she's very annoyed, and has to speak with her right away! I laugh to myself, because I know how much shit mum's in if nana leaves voice messages. The second is from mum herself telling me she's gone shopping so shouldn't be too long but if I get hungry, start making dinner. That doesn't sound too bad, but it's only 1:47. I skipped school so it doesn't make sense that she's left me a message on the house phone, she would have phoned my mobile. Third was from my school. "Hello Mrs Applegate, its Judy Gainer from Dorothy Stringer. I'm phoning because Ryan has been very rude to a member of staff and has left the building without any sort of permission or anything. If you could phone back as soon as you can, so we can arrange for you to come into school to see me that would be great. Thank you. Bye now." If mum gets that, I'm in shit, but who cares. Then there was this message from someone I don't have a clue who. "Ryan Applegate? Must be, you're the only one there after all. You are required at the old pier hotel at 3 o'clock sharp. You know where it is, so don't be silly and not come, because it won't end well for your mother. Be there and she'll not be too bad." I hear a scream and the line goes dead. The last is the same voice as before. "Change of plans, Ryan. Meet us in the back alley of Pool Valley by 2:30. Your mother won't be harmed too much if you meet us then, but no promises can be made if you stand us up. Ta ta for now, friend." That was just creepy. It's now 1:59, so if that dude was being honest, then I've got 10 minutes before I have to walk down to Pool Valley and meet whoever it is for whatever reason and stop them hurting my mum too much. Shivers are now running through my nervous system to no end. This is not good; I'll tell you that for nothing.

I run upstairs, strip down to my boxers as I find a pair of trousers and a t-shirt. I run down the stairs and through to the kitchen to where I took off my trainers. I slide them on, and run back through the hallway and grab my light jacket off of the banister, my keys off of the table and I head out of the door.

Normally I'd head along Edward Street to get to the Old Steine, but that isn't always the quickest way, so I cross over by the top of Rock Gardens and head down St. James' Street. I cross over the road, and because I'm not paying that much attention, I almost get run over by a number 37 bus. Just my luck, I think to myself. At the bottom of St. James' Street, there's a hold up in the bus lane, so I sprint across the road. On the other side of the road, there's a hold up by the round-about so I sprint across to the mouth of Pool Valley. The clock tells me that it's 2:27, so I have three minutes to get to the back alley and find whoever it is that left the messages on the phone.

The alleyway is very dark, and I can't see up it for shit, which isn't good, because I absolutely hate alleyways at the best of times, and now I don't know who's up there, it's ten times worse, in my eyes. I take a deep breath, let it out and I step into the alley, to be greeted by the same dark, chalky, silky voice that left the messages.

"Why, aren't you an early bird, Ryan?" the voice asked. "I don't know about you, but I find that impressive, don't you, Anya?"

"Oooh, yes, Logan! The boy has potential!" came a voice just as chalky and silky, but not so much dark as like and frothy. These two voices weren't human sounding, unless they were on drugs, so they were definitely in league with the London creatures, whatever they were.

"I wanna know where my mum is!" I all but shouted to them as I carried on walking towards where the voices were. "If you haven't got her, tell me where she is or you'll be sorry!" It was a very hollow threat, and these - these things probably knew that, because the female-sounding one let out a shrill laugh that slightly hurt my ears.

"Ryan, my dear boy, if you come in further, and you open your eyes properly; you'll find her just over there, by those bins. You needn't worry about her for the moment; we have business with you to be seeing to before you worry yourself about her. Now, come in a little bit further, please," I could hear in this female's voice that I had no option but to go in further, but I stayed put anyways. There was a bit of breeze, something cold brushed against my arm, and I was in further.

"What do you want with me?" I angrily asked.

"We would be very honoured if you gave up your life and became one of us. We know what you could be capable of, and we're willing to take the time to show you, to help you possess the abilities that are rightfully yours, to build you up to your full potential. What do you say?" There was a pause. "Let me rephrase that a little. Will you willingly join us, or will we be forced to fight you? Not that you could fight much anyway, not against us, that is."

"I don't quite get what you mean, and to be honest, I'd rather just leave now with my mum, so your time isn't wasted, if you don't mind." There was another shot of breeze, and then the female voice was in my ear.

"Look, punk, that isn't an option. You're with us, or you're not at all, get it? There is no 'leave with your mum' option. You join us, or you end the same as she does, understand?" She brushed the tips of her fingers across my cheek and down my neck. "It would be such a shame to waste you, so are you gonna try to put up a fight or not?"

I'm no Jackie Chan, but I do know how to throw powerful punches and land kicks in the right places. My senses told me than even though I was a pathetic, could-be Jackie Chan, I was nothing compared to these things. I doubt I could even run from them before they caught up with me.

"I'd love to put up a fight, but I'd lose my dignity too, so I'll surrender if you tell me everything, no back tracks, no loopholes, no leaving things out. I want the full story and nothing but, or I walk, metaphorically, and I'll 'go to waste', as you said."

I hadn't a clue what to expect, but nothing in my wildest dreams could have prepared me for what they said and did next. The gist of it is they are vampires, of the weirdest sort, they recruit people with "powers", and I'm one of them because I have "powers". Then the female, Anya, bit me. Not just in one place, but pretty much all over my body, and after that I don't really remember too much. I come round to the strong stench of piss, sick and old garbage. It was a dark back alley, the same as the one I was in however long ago, but it looked different.


	2. Chapter 2 A New Me

It's weird, you know, childishly wishing for something pretty much your entire life, and then one day waking up to find that it has actually happened. Everyone wishes more than once in their life that they have some kind of super power, me included, but to wake up and find that you actually have more than one is just a frightening shock, something that still hasn't set in after two weeks.

I'm now able to run faster than any human alive, I have vision so perfect I can see every fibre of hair as if it were under a microscope, I can hear a pin drop up to 1000 miles away from where I'm standing, and my sense of smell makes the best hunting dog in the world seem like he's got a bad cold. On top of that, I can see into the mind of anybody I want at will, so I know if I'm being lied to or not, I know if anybody is planning something I didn't know about, and if they're asleep I can see their dreams. As with all vampires, I have the will to achinaed, which means I pretty much dissolve and vanish on the spot are then reappear wherever I wish. Teleportation, as it's known in books. I have one more gift, that no other vampire, or any other dark creature, has ever possessed before; telekinesis at its best. If I can see an object in my mind, I can move it, no matter where it is, but of course there's a catch. I have to have been near it, touched it, or used it or whatever to do this. I can't, for example, move the Statue of Liberty to the middle of Central Park in New York because I've had no "personal contact" with it. I need personal connection to move something that isn't near me, or it just won't work. In fairness, I'd say I'm now a better Jackie Chan than Jackie Chan himself. I am the most powerful being in existence, the ultimate fighting machine, and anyone who dares cross me is either the most stupid thing alive or begging to be killed.

Ok, to you that may sound like a very big load of bullshit, but when Logan told me all about it, I nearly ripped his head off because I thought he was lying, but then I actually tried it out, and bingo! it's all true, whether you believe it or not. Shall I give you a little example of testing one of my new gifts? I was stood in the middle of the wood in Preston Park with Anya and Logan in the middle of the night when I awoke and was told everything. This was two weeks ago on Thursday, and it's a Sunday today. Logan was instructing me to branch out my hearing.

"You have to relax your mind completely, Ryan, otherwise it won't work at all. Relax it right to the very last pore. Push away any thought that comes to mind as soon as you think it." Kinda hard when you keep talking, mate, I thought to myself. "That's good, very good. Now listen to my mind and hear that cat call. Take that sound out of my mind and focus on that sound alone. Don't try to explain it or analyse it, just listen to it." To me, the sound of the cat call sounded hollow, like someone had recorded it very badly, but I continued to listen nonetheless. "Carry on listening to it, Ryan; it's getting stronger in your mind. Focus on the change in the sound. That's right, you're doing it. Keep up and stay focused. Keep pushing away any thought that comes into mind. Stay calm and relaxed. Hear that cat call. Pinpoint it, listen to where it is and feel the sound. Can you see the wild cat?" And strangely, the more I listened, the more I focused on the call of the wild cat, the better I could hear it. Then I could see the cat that was calling. It started coming into my like someone turning on a switch to an energy-saving light bulb; it slowly appeared. As soon as I could see this cat properly, as soon as I felt the vibrations of call in the air, I knew exactly where this cat was. It was sat on a very small rock three inches away from a rock to its left, a foot away from a tree that had fallen over, slightly east in a forest up in Dartmoor. The forest in question was a half hour drive from anywhere inhabited by people, so it was a wildcat making these calls. When this knowledge hit me, I was instantly shocked at myself. I lost all concentration and instantly the image and sound of this wildcat shrieking in the night vanished, and all I could now hear and see are the trees surrounding Anya, Logan and myself. The night was still, not even an annoying cricket could be heard, and certainly no breath or heartbeat, because there was no living thing instantly nearby.

"Did-did I just actually see that?" I asked aloud, even though I didn't need to.

"Yes, Ryan, you did." said Logan. "That is just one of your gifts. If you wish, I can teach you another before the night dies. Or was this too much for you?" His ending words sounded like a taunt to me ears, and I wasn't willing to be taunted. Without a word or thought, I ran as fast as I could, which is incredibly fast, no human would have seen me move, out of the woods, along London Road, through the Old Steine, along the Pier and flung myself off the end of it. The water that would have been deathly cold to any human or other land-dwelling animal was not even mildly refreshing to me. I barely felt the ice cold freeze of the water as it covered every exposed part of my body, making my clothes stick to me as if they were holding on for dear life. Although I couldn't feel the temperature, the fluidity of the water around me I felt perfectly. To think, you're always having a bath, or putting your hands in water, or even going to Prince Regents or another swimming centre for a swim, but you never really feel the water. Imagine jelly, lots and lots of jelly, but not as solid as it is. Actually, it's not like jelly at all. You can feel every particle that makes the water. You can feel the hydrogens that desperately cling to the oxygens, trying their best to stay together so they stay water. You can feel every combination of hydrogen and oxygen and the float around each other, not quite touching, but not being complete strangers either. It was a very weird experience, but I'd instantly accomplished what I'd set out to do by jumping off the end of the Pier into the sea. My mind was clear, so a mere second after I jumped in, I jumped out again and ran back to where Anya and Logan stood, running so fast that my clothes dried with the sudden gush of air, and every last drop of water that clung to my hair was ripped away by the force I was running with.

I had barely left them when I stood with Anya and Logan again. Cool, I thought to myself, Time-saver or what!

"Enjoy your dip, Ryan?" Anya asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. How did Logan put up with her?

"Yeah, I did actually. You should take one. It might actually calm you down a bit; take the sourness out of you. Oh, wait; it's always there isn't it? Sorry, my mistake." I laughed loudly, but that was cut short, because I was rammed onto the floor by Anya.

"Take that back, you jerk! Take it back!" she shrieked, as she tried to rip chunks of my face off with her nails and punching my chest pretty much at the same time. Now, I like feisty women, but this is just taking the mick a bit. "Take that back right now, before I rip you to shreds, you beast of nature! Take it back now!" As she carried on trying, and failing, to rip chunks of my skins out of my and simultaneously punching my chest, I was finding it so hard not to laugh right in her face, but it almost tickled, what she was doing to me! I couldn't take any more, so I grabbed hold of her wrists before she could attack me face again, rolled her onto the ground so I was stood up, then I launched her at a tree. I didn't care what tree, and I didn't care that she almost hit Logan as she passed him in the air, and I certainly didn't care about the thunderous crack that rumbled through the air as she collided with a tree.

"Lighten up and take a joke, please. You're pathetic. I'm not going to take anything back, so deal with it. What else have we got, then, Logan?" This was a great distraction, as Anya never put a toe out of line when Logan had his mouth or mind open in speech.

"Achinaed, Ryan. I will show you to be able to put yourself next to the wildcat, and then bring yourself back. And please don't taunt Anya; it really won't end well for you. She has a temper that stems to her creation." I stared at her, suddenly sorry, but Logan's voice snapped me away from my thoughts before I thought them. "Now, relax your mind again, and remember the wildcat. Empty your mind of any other thought, empty it of any emotion. Focus as quickly as you can. Stop hearing and smelling and seeing these woods, Ryan," Logan snarled. "Focus on that wildcat in Dartmoor. Can you see that it hasn't moved? Now slowly branch out your focus to a meter radius of where it is. Feel every surface of rock and grass, feel every particle in the air, and feel all the vibrations around that cat. Focus, now, Ryan. Don't let yourself slip now. Now visualise yourself within that meter radius of the cat. See yourself there, feel yourself there, know that you are there and not here, Ryan. Focus on being there. Can you..." His voice was now not part of my subconscious thoughts. My surroundings felt different, so I opened my eyes, only to see the vision that was in my head, so I was spun out.

"Logan?" I called out. "Anya? Are you guys here?" I didn't get to shout anything else out, because the shrieking call of the wildcat behind me shut me up. It was nearer than I'd thought it would be, but instead of being proud of myself and my accomplishment, I was nervous, because I wasn't sure if I could get back on my own. Logan had coached me here, and I had yet to do it alone, but it was my first time being able to achinaed, so I wouldn't be able to do it alone without assistance yet. Don't think like this, something shouted at me in my head. If you have confidence like the beast you are, you can do it alone. So I stood as still as I could and I fell into the stupor needed to get back to Logan and Anya. Before I could become completely entranced, I felt something on the back of my neck. I was sure it was the feeling of someone stroking my neck, but by the time I'd opened my eyes and took in every single detail of my surroundings, whatever or whoever had touched me had vanished from the area. I put it to the back of my mind, closed my eyes and sank back into my trance. This time I was undisturbed, and quickly managed to focus on where Logan and Anya were, then within seconds of mentally placing myself there, I was stood beside them once more. This accomplishment I was proud of, and it was clear that the other two were, too, as they hugged me and slapped my back in reward. The very first time of being able to achinaed will never leave my mind.


	3. Chapter 3 Revenge Is Best Served Cold

Last night was one of those nights that you remember vividly for the rest of your life. As a teenager, I would have stayed away from Logan and Adoire for as long as I could, but as a vampire, I will do almost whatever it takes to never see Logan again, and I'll forever be edgy around Adoire, purely because I know what it's like to be in a fight with him. Call me a coward, call me whatever you want, but it's in the nature of a beast to watch his back, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do. Me and Anya hunted around Hove last night, going to both Hove and Aldrington station, wandering past as many pubs and clubs as we could, then we ventured back to Brighton, making yet another pit stop at Brighton Station, before we started to look for abandoned buildings that we could accommodate for the day, and maybe even the week. Anya had already spoken to Logan, Shaila and Adoire, and they had agreed that if Adoire wanted he would join us tonight, and we three would go our own ways, whilst Logan went his with Shaila. We knew that this would sooner or later prove difficult, Brighton being a small area in comparison to other haunts, but we couldn't force them to leave, because it had been Logan's haunt for longer than I had lived. If I could, I would piss all over Brighton to mark my territory, so vampires like Logan would stay out because they don't belong here, but I can't piss all over a town, and if I did, I would be out-dominated by Logan anyway. It was a lose-lose situation for me, so I smiled and tried to make the best of it. Looking on the bright side, I had one of his prized possessions, even if it wasn't his haunt. I had Anya. She was one of the most special vampires that have existed in about three centuries, so I'm told, and oh Count Dracula, she's so hot that if I could have my way with her I would! Despite all of this, though, she was the bitchiest being I have ever met in my life! She has a fuse shorter than a stick of dynamite, a mouth bigger than the Southwick Tunnel, and finger nails that could probably scratch through titanium. Lord forbid anyone who crosses her, 'cause they won't get back up on their own.

To get me through the day, I worked on my mind powers. I practiced hearing things, moving things within the house, and as Anya was thinking, to herself and others, I was picking her mind, hearing what she was thinking, trying to see if I could distinguish her lies from the truth. I have to say, she lies to herself a heck of a lot. I'm slightly more than a little bit worried about her, if I'm honest with you. She's 97% honest with everyone else, but she lies to herself 99.9% of the time. She has issues, I'm telling you!

As I think this, Anya hears me listening in on her mind, and flips, as usual. I quickly run behind her, grabs her arms and snap them so she can't scratch me. Don't worry; she heals fast, so they'll be unbroken in about half hour, which is enough time to calm her down. She tries to bite me, so I throw my hardest punch, which breaks her jaw, just like I intended to. I fling her into the air and snap her legs as she falls down, so now she is completely harmless, she can't shout like she had planned to, and I actually stand a chance against her and can try to calm her down. It's a very good plan.

"Look, it's not at all how it seems, Anya, I promise. I'm trying out my powers, and you're here with me so I thought it would be ok if I looked in on your mind. I know I should have asked! You were too busy muttering to yourself and every time I thought to ask you mentally shouted at me! What was I supposed to do?" She mentally shouted that I should have focused on a randomer as they walked by. "Yeah, good plan, Anya! It's four o'clock in the morning, nobody's around! And those that have walked by have been really hard targets to focus on because they keep moving and I can't seem to nab them quick enough before they're gone, ok? If you'd have heard that in my mind, then it would have been great of you to be a supporting friend and just let me practice as much as I can! If I can't focus on a still object then how the Hell do you think I'm gonna be able to focus on someone that's moving? Thanks for the support, An, thanks a lot." I left the room and walked up the stairs to find somewhere that wasn't with Anya to sit. I just cannot bear to look at her right now, and unless she moves up here by using achinaed, I won't see her for 20-25 minutes. Finally a bit of personal space. That may sound really weird, because I could have moved away at any time, but with vampire, we never hang alone. We're clan creatures by nature, so it's the major norm to be with at least one other person, just for being with them, not really for the company, but it does help if you get along with the other vampire, or you feel claustrophobic, like I was starting to feel. When you do move out of the direct company, say to another room like I did, then you feel not just relief from the claustrophobia, but a slightly uncomfortable feeling because you're not with that being. It's complicated, and even though it's happening to me right now, I can't even understand it very well.

My thoughts had wandered, to where I don't know, and before I knew, it was late in the afternoon instead of very early in the morning. I was only aware of the sudden loss of time that because Anya knocked on the door of the room I was in, pulling me from my own little world.

"What you doing up here, punk?" she asked me, in a tone that said she was sorry about earlier, even if she refused to even think those words. "Still sulking after earlier, are we? I was thinking, before we meet up with Adoire, me and you can go for a bite to eat, then catch him off guard and laugh for the rest of the month. How's that sound to you?" I was well aware that she was skirting around both her thoughts and mine, avoiding what had happened earlier, and trying to win me over with what she was saying.

"I was actually trying to avoid you, if you hadn't picked up on it. You were such a loser earlier, and I thought that I could rely on you to help me out when I needed it, but obviously I was wrong. You're such a great friend, you know, Anya. Always there when a friend is in need, ready to help them out, and you certainly don't pounce on them when they do the smallest of things wrong. With you as a friend, I'd welcome an enemy. They'd be ten times a better friend to me than you ever will be Anya, so stick your "meal" up your arse, because I don't care. Forget me when you meet up with Adoire, you'd be doing me a huge favour. I'll hunt alone tonight, and who knows what tomorrow will bring?" I stood up and looked her straight in the eyes, drawing her full attention. "Maybe tomorrow we'll find someone just as evil, cold-hearted and selfish as you are, then you can live happily ever after, all on your own together with them. Or maybe we'll be stuck together with Adoire here to talk to both or neither of us, silently cursing the other and growling loud enough for humans to hear. I really don't care, Anya. Logan could rip your head off and throw it of the end of the Pier for all I care. Just do us both a favour, leave me alone unless you genuinely want to be a friend. It'll benefit us both in the long run." and I walked out of the room, closing the door behind me to make one final last point. I walked down the stairs, turned along the hallway into what would have been a kitchen. I opened what looked like a cupboard door and walked down the stairs into the basement, crossed to the furthest corner and sat there, knees slightly up towards my chest, my arms resting on my knees and my head resting in my arms. For the first time since before I'd become a vampire, I actually wished that I would sleep. I wanted more than anything else to be able to sleep, but the closest I'll ever get is meditating so intensely that I can't even hear my own thoughts. At this point, I would warmly welcome sleep, so I get through the rest of the day, forget all about Anya and then go out to hunt, free to follow my instincts and hunt my enemies while embracing my friends.


End file.
